Early April is normally a dismal time in most places across the country as gearheads tend to be shut indoors due to the poor weather. And let’s not even talk about tax time. Fortunately for muscle car fans in the Southwest, tax time was a little more bearable as they rumbled out to the 13th Meguiar’s Nationals at the beautiful Del Mar Fairgrounds just north of San Diego. Goodguys in Del Mar was the perfect excuse you needed to cure those rainy springtime blues.

Goodguys in Del Mar was the perfect excuse you needed to cure those rainy springtime blues.

One nice thing about Del Mar Goodguys is that it’s local to us, which means we get to enjoy open-air cruising to and from the event in our very own magazine project vehicles. Many editors within the Source Interlink Media family of magazines took that opportunity to saddle up and head to Del Mar, which is literally right on the water. Heck, you can even hear the pounding surf, smell the salt air, and if you listen carefully, you can catch strains of the Mamas and the Poppas’ “California Dreamin’.” Of course, once the Goodguys Street Machine Autocross fires up, those nostalgic lyrics are instantly replaced with the sound of angry exhaust and screaming rubber!

5/20

...repeating the rotation through the ranks ensures racers get the same opportunity and the same number of runs.

Don’t get us wrong, we love to watch worked-over muscle machinery claw for traction with all the other spectators, but if we get the chance to join the fray with our own hardware, count us in. This was one of those perfect weekends where we got to load up the ’68 Nova, hit the highway, then pull right into the action on the Goodguys Autocross circuit. We made sure to get there early too; guys arriving late to the party—even a few minutes after the 9 a.m. starting time on Friday—were out of luck. There’s only a finite number of parking slots, and you’ve got to rise early if you want one of them.

The unwritten rule is that once you stake out a spot, it’s yours for the entire weekend. Nobody can take it when you’re off making a run, and as long as you get there by 9 a.m. the following day, you can have your same spot. After getting a quick tech inspection and a Goodguys Autocross decal, we unloaded, checked everything mechanically, and waited our turn. The Goodguys staff runs the cars in order down each row, and repeating the rotation through the ranks ensures racers get the same opportunity and the same number of runs. Just hang by your car so you don’t miss a run! Compared to the mad dash to the staging lanes at the dragstrip, this is downright civilized.

6/20

Over the weekend, I made seven runs with Project Nova, the best culminating in a 57.40-second run, which would’ve put our Nova near the top of the pack if our Nitto NT01 tires had a treadwear rating higher than 180 (they were a 100). It was the Nova’s first time on the track, and it performed surprisingly well; in fact, there were zero mechanical issues on the track and on the highway. We just had a couple of great days at the office—what more could we ask for?!

7/20DSE’s Kyle Tucker is often called upon by his customers to help sort out mysterious problems, like the brake pressure issue plaguing this second-gen Camaro. Kyle’s an engineer, fabricator, and a driver, so he’s got a unique insight into the secret life of muscle cars.

8/20We spent some time hanging out with Greg and Jane Thurmond, who own this highly updated ’64 Corvette. They are serious autocrossers and muscle car fans—and the C4 suspension, LS6, and T56 transmission in their beautiful midyear proves it. Piloted by Greg, it took the overall win in Street Machine with a 54.086-second lap.

12/20You absolutely don’t need to be a show car to run the Goodguys Autocross, just check out Robbie Conklin’s ’68 Chevelle! The homebuilt hauler has beefy QA1 suspension bits, an LSX 376 crate motor, Wilwood brakes, a 700-R4, and radical-looking 18-inch steelies with a 245/275 Nitto rubber combo.

16/20It’s increasingly hard to find Pontiac-powered Pontiacs that can go the distance around corners at full song, but Ralph Hollis’ 455HO ’70 GTO was giving it the old college try. Most guys with an immaculate car like this would sooner park the show area and ride the Hoveround scooter—not Ralph!

17/20It’s increasingly hard to find Pontiac-powered Pontiacs that can go the distance around corners at full song, but Ralph Hollis’ 455HO ’70 GTO was giving it the old college try. Most guys with an immaculate car like this would sooner park the show area and ride the Hoveround scooter—not Ralph!

This was one of those perfect weekends where we got to load up the ’68 Nova, hit the highway, then pull right into the action…